Hellraiser: Two sides of the Puzzle Box
by Stray Hawk
Summary: One lone man, Mr. Copper, is tired of the race and wants only one thing: to the greatest puzzle! But as eager as he is on opening it, he needs to test the box on live people. His victims, Roxanne and her best friend Jess are faced with a tragic fate.
1. What is your pleasure, Mr Copper pt 1

Hey reader(s), this is a fan based story of "Hellraiser" but has a general idea of "HELLBOUND (Hellraiser II)". It is also my first story so don't murder me on the typos. Leave the killing to the Cenobites. SO enjoy and **please comment**! ~_S.H_.

"What's your pleasure, Mr. Copper?"

It was sickly hot in the room; not the kind of temperature that one could easily shrug off. As the sun beamed its deadly rays on the tin roof, the temperature seemed to stride a few digits more with each passing moment. It was like God was already punishing the man who sat alone in this room… as if _God_ could ever reach him now…

Mr. Copper, a P.H.D. in sociology, had the unfortunate pleasure of counseling high school teenagers for a living- if you ever call listening to self-destructive snobs a "living"… It had been his life's dream to make something-_anything_, of his life worthwhile. If only he did not have a family to bleed his earnings for, or be stuck at some school were nobody cared if someone had talent or could make a difference that could greatly impact the world.

Life was just one big puzzle; a labyrinth for blind cannibal rats to run through in hopes to be the first to indulge in a cheesy reward. Mr. Copper, however, was tired of running, and tired of trying to solve everyone else's problems. All he wants, more than ever, is the reward for solving the ultimate puzzle; even if he had to wait in some small shack for an eternity, he will get that box.


	2. What is your pleasure, Mr Copper pt 2

"What's your pleasure, Mr. Copper?" (Part Two)

Copper shifted his sticky body around in his seat and checked the time on his cheap digital watch. He was told by a dozen merchants that the man he was looking for lived in this building and was forced to wait for nearly an hour. Copper was already aware that the man is incredibly old and crippled, but did the old geezer die or something? Twice he stood up and checked the door to see if anyone had forgotten him, but the person who let him in, a nameless bearded bum, only gestured his hand for him to return back to his seat.

"_This must be some kind of test," _he thought wearily as he roughly massaged his drenched temples.

Copper sluggishly sat up in his seat and glanced around the room again in hopes to find something to speed up time. All around the tinny store, which was more like a flimsy shack then an actual building, was piles and piles of old papers with devilish knick-knacks resting their dusty bodies on top of the pile.

Mr. Copper was considering on taking off his sweat stained shirt when he heard the door behind him creak slowly open. The sharp noise made his spine stiff and he clasped his clammy palms tightly around the thin fabric of his pants to stop himself from shrieking. Swiftly, Copper turned his head to see the face of the intruder, but only saw the back of the old man's shoulders. Before Copper could say anything to the old man, he suddenly noticed the withered old fingers silently turn the lock downwards. This unnerved Copper, considering that the only escape now was the tinny window over the shabby table, but after looking over the man's frail body with a critical eye, his logic told him that he could win a scuffle if he were to fight him. Copper was about to speak when he heard the elderly man talking to himself.

"_Late_. Always late-that blasted old messenger," he mumbled into the open air, "it's time for a new one, I been telling _them_ that for years, and do _they_ listen? No. _They_ have to wait for the right one, they tells me-_they_ have to find a right match for the job, but if it's another old soul then I quit-"

Copper cleared his throat loudly and the old man snapped his buzzard-like head at him, as if he suddenly realized he was not alone.

"_Christ he's old," _Copper thought to himself in astonishment. The old man's face, if you call it a face, seemed like somebody sewed loose dried fabric around his skull and then suddenly dunked it in dirty water. There was absolutely no color in his hollow cheeks and his eyes looked more like empty sockets. The only features that seemed human-ish were the long wiry facial hair and the huge crooked nose, which seemed to have a mind of its own. The nostrils flared up at his direction and then the old man's expression softens.

"Ahhhh, Mr. Copper," he sighed some-what lustfully, "Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoyed the snacks that I left out for days such as these." Copper eyed the bugs on the table and tried to get the man to talk about important things; nervously he cleared his throat and began to bargain.

"I heard rumors that you carry the box mister…" Copper began but the man waved off the question and took his place at the other side of the round table.

"My name is not that important to you, but let me answer your question with another… what is your _pleasure_, Mr. Copper?"

"My… pleasure?" Copper's heart was beating fiercely in his ears making him feel a mixture of fear and excitement for the events that will take place. He just hoped that he will not faint or throw-up first because of the heat.

"Yess," the elderly man whispered and he leaned back in his chair with his fingers laced over his chest. "Many have come here," he said dreamily, "searching for answers? Escaping a reality? Becoming more then some savage rat in a race?"

Copper's stomach dropped and alarm bells rang in his head. Every nerve of his body screamed for his legs to run and to get as far away as he will allow himself, but the old man chuckled at Copper's internal distress and continued.

"It's not the first time that the box has lured customers into my home," he sighed and reached under the table and pulled out a golden cube. Gently the old man's fingers placed the box on the center of the table and gleefully watched Copper's shocked expression. "Is _this_… what you seek?"


	3. What is your pleasure, Mr Copper pt 3

"What's your pleasure, Mr. Copper?" (Part Three)

He couldn't believe it; the puzzle that he had been waiting for an hour for was right in his grasp. Just for that small second of time, the warning signs and the fear seemed to be muted and the only thing that ever existed was him, the puzzle, and the old man. Copper wanted to touch it; to feel the golden markings around with his fingers, but he did not dare to move his hand near it without the elderly mans permission. He raised his sweaty brows at him and gave a vigorous nod.

The elderly man hummed through his noise, pleased with Copper's decision, and then eyed the leather case resting on the floor. "Payment?" he asked, but already knew the answer.

"Y-yes," Copper stammered, suddenly awkward and clumsy from the relief of the old man's acceptance. "Here," he fumbled the locks and flipped open the lid revealing a layer of one-hundred dollar bill columns. The leather case was small and Copper tried to make the amount look more impressive than it is by previously stuffing his and his wife's savings into a brief case, like in the movies. Still, he felt the need to explain himself.

"M-my wife and I usually don't have that much money-teachers and school consolers don't make that much in the first place, but we save every little bit for our son's college, but he does not need it _now_ because he's eight years old, and-" Copper was suddenly interrupted by the leather case's lid slamming shut and watching it being carried away to the other side of the table. He looked at the old man's expressionless face nervously, hoping that he paid enough to have the box.

"This is not enough," the old man sighed as he gestured to the case below him. Copper's stomach fell again and desperately tried to bargain again.

"Wait, I could get you more! I could pull some strings and work over time or get a second job-"

The old man raised his hand to stop Copper's panicky rant and gestured down towards the box. "It's yours, Mr. Copper. It has always been yours…"

A wave of relief flooded over and Mr. Copper grabbed the puzzle box as if it was the last glass of water on Earth. His mind was already wheeling with ideas and ways how to open the box and to gain its pleasures. But first he needs to test it; to see if this would work and how it will work. This might be his only chance to become something…

He did not thank the old man or even look up at him as he left the store with the box clutch tightly in his hands and headed back home in America. He needed to go to the school. He needed others to help him understand his gift.

Teenagers are fickle creatures, now-a-days… you'll never know what they will do next.


	4. Shopkeeper

The Shopkeeper

The old man watched him go, as he watched others before him go. The door handle turned easily in Mr. Copper's free hand and disappeared in the crowd. The old shopkeeper chuckled to himself; if Mr. Copper had doubts and wanted to leave without the box, the store would trap him until he gives into the curiosity, but now, since he purchased it, there was no need for that devilish trick. Mad men would do anything just to get out, it seems…

Such poor, greedy beings, humans are…

With a groan and a long stretch, the old man reached over his head and pulled a hidden string in his mangled tattered hair. As he pulled the string tighter, the old man felt the corners of his skin tug and flex as he unlaced the invisible stitches at the base of his skull. He hoped that he didn't tie the hair to his skin during his rush to meet Mr. Copper, or else _they_ would have another earful of the terrible service.

"I wish that dammed messenger would die already so _they_ can replace that old bat," he mumbled to himself, his lips flapping violently out of place, "at least a new one would give me more time to dress myself up better…" With an exhale breath the old man's face fell off, revealing red, glistening muscles; he sighed and massaged each strand of his cheeks and exposed bones. "The heat feels pleasurable," he mused as the suns raise reflected of his slimy surface, "It like I'm alive again."

Hey reader(s)… Like I said at the beginning, this is my first story ever posted and already I messed up… If anyone was ever annoyed with "What is your pleasure I-III"… sorry! Still new at this, but I promise I will tame this beasty and serve you an fun story of tragedy and sacrifice. So bare with me! _~S.H._


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